250 MPG CARS!!!

Originally posted by sasquatch672
250 miles per gallon? They're doing it
Tinkerers fiddle with hybrids to increase efficiency

CORTE MADERA, California (AP) -- Politicians and automakers say a car that can both reduce greenhouse gases and free America from its reliance on foreign oil is years or even decades away.

Ron Gremban says such a car is parked in his garage.

It looks l ...[text shortened]... ," Frank said. "They pick this kind of target to get the public off their back, essentially."

Well the real savings are a bit more subtle. While the individual
driver saves gas, which is a good thing, the energy to run the car
has to come from somewhere and that somewhere is the local
power grid. Depending on how that power is developed, the overall
pollution may be higher or lower. If the power comes from solar
cells then the immediate benefits are less pollution but if the
cells are not manufactured in a green environment, making the cells
may produce more pollution. If they come from wave or wind power
there is clearly less stress on the environment, but maybe more
stress on people living nearby the hardware. (live with it!)
If the power comes from a coal fired plant you may be actually
increasing the total pollution by making acid rain.
If you get power from a nuclear plant you have less immediate
pollution but a long term nuclear waste storage problem.
You as a consumer, regardless of the way the power is made,
still will pay for the extra kilowatt hours used by the car and when
the price of oil goes up, eventually it will be followed by an increase
in the price of electricity.
I am breathlessly awaiting an announcement of a new fusion
power breakthrough... So far there is no free lunch.

Originally posted by sasquatch672
250 miles per gallon? They're doing it
Tinkerers fiddle with hybrids to increase efficiency

CORTE MADERA, California (AP) -- Politicians and automakers say a car that can both reduce greenhouse gases and free America from its reliance on foreign oil is years or even decades away.

Ron Gremban says such a car is parked in his garage.

It looks l ...[text shortened]... ," Frank said. "They pick this kind of target to get the public off their back, essentially."

I think them cars would be a big pain, having to charge them, but if they ever get affordable I may get one, but most of the time I use a truck to haul horses, or tools. Most of the Co2 I think is coming from these big trucks and semis, Which is why I think they should develop a moter that runs on H2O. Just think, if they can make a car that runs on H2O, then oxagen will be coming out of the exhaust, instead of CO2 🙂

Originally posted by flyUnity
I think them cars would be a big pain, having to charge them, but if they ever get affordable I may get one, but most of the time I use a truck to haul horses, or tools. Most of the Co2 I think is coming from these big trucks and semis, Which is why I think they should develop a moter that runs on H2O. Just think, if they can make a car that runs on H2O, then oxagen will be coming out of the exhaust, instead of CO2 🙂

nice idea but H2O is the RESULT of burning. Hydrogen and oxygen
burning together makes water. Sorry, nothing to gain there.
Steam engines use water but not as an energy source, just an
energy transfer method.

Originally posted by sonhouse
nice idea but H2O is the RESULT of burning. Hydrogen and oxygen
burning together makes water. Sorry, nothing to gain there.
Steam engines use water but not as an energy source, just an
energy transfer method.

I heard that somone made a hybird car using water, they created a process that seperated the oxygen from the Hydrogen, Am I wrong?

Originally posted by flyUnity
I heard that somone made a hybird car using water, they created a process that seperated the oxygen from the Hydrogen, Am I wrong?

you can certainly splt water by electrolysis into H2 and O2,
something I did as a freshman in HS but its very inefficient, you
put in 100 watts to get out three watts of hydrogen. At that rate you
might as well grow corn and make alcohol, a lot more efficient.
There are people working on catalysis models using solar energy
to make hydrogen from water but the efficiency is not ready for
prime time just yet. You can also make hydrogen by running steam
over red hot iron but thats not much more effiecient than electrolysis.
The gist of all this is hydrogen is not an energy source, its an energy
storage technique, like a battery. The real source, solar, biomass,
electrolysis, hot iron, thats the real energy source.